Menlo Park Rescue Team Sent to Central Valley

MENLO PARK, CA - A water rescue team from the Menlo Park Fire Protection District is staging in Sacramento ahead of a rainstorm that's expected to affect the Central Valley, fire officials said Sunday.

Last week the same team deployed to Oroville because an auxiliary spillway on the Oroville Dam was at risk of failing, which could have prompted swift water rescues, the kind the team is trained for.

About 200,000 people were evacuated from the Oroville area before the danger was over and the team returned home, according to fire officials.

Although the team is made up of more than 10 people from Menlo Park's fire district, Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said in a statement that the district will maintain it's own capabilities by holding back boats and re-staffing affected fire stations.

Because of the potential for flooding, state emergency officials have pre-positioned nine swift water rescue teams between Merced and Yuba City.

Several members of the 14-person Menlo Park team are veterans of Hurricane Katrina and some were involved in water rescues in Yuba City 20 years ago when a levee failed, fire officials said.

Members of the team are trained to work on boats and with and from helicopters. The Menlo Park team is one of the state's original.

- Bay City News / Photos courtesy of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District